


True Gems

by louisnoel



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Angst, Fluff, M/M, ahhh there's an official looking tag, and also contains healthy amounts of, anyway this is an, didn't tag it underage because there's nothing explicit here, it's just sappy, sorry if too ooc, yeeeaaaahhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-02-18 13:12:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2349641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/louisnoel/pseuds/louisnoel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Ruby's first day at his new school. He didn't know what to expect, but certainly not falling for one of his teachers.</p><p>Part 3 is out now!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift originally intended to cheer up a friend of me. I'm not too much into Daigo/Ruby so I apologise in advance for any OOC-ness. Same is true for any spelling/grammar mistakes, English is not my first language! Okay, now go enjoy my story :>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> little update: fixed some grammar and spelling mistakes (January 18th, 2015)

Ruby hoped things would finally take a turn for the better when he was standing in front of his new school's gates. He was a high school sophomore and had transferred here just recently. His father had found a job in this city, far away from their home town, and moving, especially leaving all his friends behind, hadn't been exactly easy for Ruby. Keeping in touch was one thing but actually hanging out another. He was hundreds of miles and two timezones away from them now.

Then, there were his hobbies. Sewing and make up were considered girly, for some reason, and if you happened to be a guy attracted all sorts of bullies. He had left the old ones behind (save for his father), and hoped that people would simply accept him the way he was here.

He had received his schedule per mail during the weekend already and was reviewing it now, Monday morning at 8:15 a.m. This school offered an actual sewing club, so Ruby had taken this one as prime after-school activity. Other than that, he'd tried fitting as many different art classes as he was allowed to in his schedule (two, one on pencil drawing and one on sculpturing and carving).

His first class was P.E. of all things. Ruby didn't want to walk around sweaty and gross all day, and he knew that using the school's showers would be a... questionable choice at best. Either the hygiene would be lacking or the bully safety would. The ugly scars on his forehead and scalp he usually hid under a headband or beanie wouldn't help matters.

There was only one spontaneous way out and that was faking a cold. It was early October and the perfect time to pretend being too sick for running around or playing stupid team sports for way too long.

The teacher was a tan and muscular young man with blue hair whose name Ruby didn't catch. He let him sit on the bleachers and watch with mild disinterest as the other students began wrestling... or something. Ruby didn't care and decided to fake something more severe than a cold, best in front of a doctor so he'd get an official excuse for not taking part in P.E. Too bad he couldn't pretend to be pregnant. Girls always had it easier.

It felt like hours, although in reality it were merely 45 minutes of pure boredom. At least his sculpturing/carving class would take place next, and Ruby had been looking forward to it. He hoped it wouldn't turn out to be another drag.

There weren't too many other students in this class, and, save for him and a tall blond guy, consisted only of girls, most of them talking animatedly to each other. Ruby sat down in the front of the classroom, next to a brunette girl who was drumming out a complicated sounding rhythm with her fingers on her desk. Ruby grimaced and tried to think happy thoughts.

It seemed like the atmosphere completely changed all of a sudden when their teacher entered. The whole classroom went quiet, eerily so. Ruby glanced over to the teacher and felt his mouth go dry. _Hot_ wasn't even beginning to do his looks justice.

Despite his silvery looking hair, he appeared to be only in perhaps his mid-twenties. His eyes seemed to change colour depending on the angle in which they caught the light, going from a cold steely blue over a turquoise hue to a warm amber. He wore a fine suit that didn't fail to display his good built while still looking formal and authorising.

Long story short, Ruby was mesmerised. He closed his mouth, hoping he hadn't been gaping like a carp.

The teacher sat down on his desk and looked through the classroom. Finally, his eyes rested on Ruby. "I take it you're the new kid?" His voice was very pleasant. It wasn't too deep but still sounded manly, and it sounded soft as... velvet? Could voices be described like this? Ruby didn't care; it was what he thought was the only description that did the voice justice.

"Yes. My name's Ruby--"

"Yeah, yeah, don't bother. I'm bad with names." He waved his hand to make his point clear. As he did so, Ruby could see all the rings he was wearing.

 _Oh shit, please don't let him be married_ , he prayed silently to every single god whose name he could recall. He couldn't tell why he felt so strongly about this, just that he wanted to be more than just this teacher's student. He knew of his teacher's existence for about a minute and not even his name, and Ruby could already say it for sure. _This man_ was what he wanted.

The content of the class was mostly lost to Ruby. He couldn't concentrate on the words these too perfect lips were forming. He found himself daydreaming instead of paying attention, and he didn't care.

Luckily, today was an almost wholly theoretical class. Pretending to take notes, Ruby scribbled down a random assortment of letters. At the same time, he thought about how he could reasonably start a conversation with this, in his opinion, illegally hot teacher.

As soon as the bell rang, the other students made a dash for the door. Ruby, meanwhile, took his time packing his bag. Out of the corner of his eye he watched his teacher to make sure he wouldn't leave the room as well. But he just sat at his own desk and wrote something into a small notepad.

When he had finished packing, Ruby walked around to the teacher's desk. "Uh, Mister..."

"Tsuwabuki." He straightened in his seat and turned to Ruby. "How can I help you?"

Ruby almost grinned. Having his teacher's attention all to himself felt incredibly satisfying. He inhaled deeply before slowly repeating the sentence he'd prepared earlier during class. "As you already know, I'm new here. I don't know what you've already covered in class and I would therefore appreciate it if you could send me the--"

Tsuwabuki pursed his lips in a smile. "You're sounding pretty stiff and formal, Ruby. Loosen up a little."

Ruby felt his heart rate pick up when he heard his name. _He remembered my name!_ He tried his best keeping his grin to himself. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little nervous." He looked down to his feet because he didn't want his teacher to see him blush.

"You don't need to be. I'm just a teacher and I'm... not trying to intimidate you."

Ruby's head shot up. "No, you're not!" He pressed a hand against his mouth to shut himself up. _Wow, talk about embarrassing outbursts._

Tsuwabuki smiled and his eyes turned that warm amber again. "Anyway, I'm guessing you want to catch up." Ruby nodded silently. "Right. Gimme your email or your cell phone number and I'm going to send you all the work sheets. They should be sufficient."

Ruby felt the urge to jump around because the hottest guy he had ever laid eyes on just asked him for his number! (He didn't care about the context.) "U-um, sure. Phone would probably be better, we just moved here last week and the internet's still not working."

Nodding, Tsuwabuki pushed his notepad over to where Ruby stood, then handed him a pen. "Just jot down your name and number and you should have everything you need by tomorrow."

Ruby did as he was told. "Thank you, Mister Tsuwabuki." Ruby handed the notepad and pen back, then bowed.

His teacher laughed. It sounded angelic to Ruby. "I already said there's no need to be so formal."

* * *

As promised, Ruby received a couple of text messages, no sooner than 11 p.m. He was still up because he just couldn't sleep -- his thoughts were revolving around Tsuwabuki and Ruby couldn't tell if he was developing a crush on a teacher he barely knew, or if he was just in lust.

Heart racing, Ruby picked up his phone and, first things first, saved the number. He didn't know Tsuwabuki's first name, but his last message read, "sorry i kno its l8 but ur not gonna work thru this 2day rite? d," so Ruby put that single "D" there, too.

Then he noticed that the text was basically a question. He intended to ignore it and go to bed instead, because he knew if he got another message from Tsuwabuki he wouldn't be able to catch any z's this night. But then again sending him all the documents was a seriously nice gesture.

He contemplated using proper capitalisation but the "too formal" words rang through his head (in that heavenly voice, no less). In the end, he went with, "no. thank you for the work sheets"

It didn't even take half a minute for his teacher to reply. "u should sleep u have class 2moro"

"so do you"

Ruby waited until 1 for an answer before sulkily shutting off his phone to save some battery.

* * *

Against his prediction, Ruby _did_ manage to fall asleep, although his sleep was restless and he felt incredibly tired the next morning. Good thing he could doze off during P.E. His teacher didn't even seem to mind and only woke him to inform him that the bell had rung and he should hurry to his next class.

Tsuwabuki was fashionably late today, too, enough so that the girl who sat next to him during class was arguing more than loudly with the blond dude. Ruby was impressed by her colourful vocabulary and creative way of swearing, but then again he didn't know her and had been daydreaming yesterday.

The shouting was starting to get on his nerves when _finally_ Tsuwabuki entered. He flashed Ruby a small smile that made his heart race. He almost didn't notice the sudden quiet.

Tsuwabuki hefted a heavy looking bag onto his desk. "Today we're gonna do something a little more exciting than yesterday. I brought soapstones for each of you, and I'm going to get you some files and sandpaper. You can already get a stone out of the bag but, _please_ , no bodies when I return." Then he left.

The girl next to Ruby reached over her own desk to get ahold of the bag containing the stones. She reached into it and pulled a relatively big looking one out. "Take that, fairy fucker!" With that and admirable precision, she threw the soapstone at the blond guy.

He caught the stone with seeming ease. "Thanks, cunt." He grinned and displayed bleached teeth. Ruby immediately didn't like him. "You throw like a girl."

"I _am_ a girl, ya blind pea _cock_!" She stressed the last syllable and Ruby was sure she did this intentionally. He snaked his hand into the bag, pulled out one of the stones, and decided to ignore the quarrel.

Tsuwabuki didn't take too long, though, and came back as Ruby was still inspecting the soft stone in his hands. The girl and the blond dude went quiet immediately.

"Even you two are still breathing. I'm impressed." Tsuwabuki placed a satchel on his desk. "These are considered potentially dangerous, so we don't store them in this room. This also means you're not supposed to try to hurt anybody with 'em. Understood?" He stared the girl down, then the blond guy. Both nodded like two scared kindergarten children. Ruby stifled a laugh and hoped no one else noticed his faint snort. "All right. Each of you take a file, the sandpaper's here on my desk. You know what to work on."

Ruby panicked. _He_ didn't know what to work on. He quickly looked through the class but no one else seemed to share his confusion. "Um, Miste--"

Tsuwabuki was already looking at him. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "You don't have a project, I know. But what I _don't_ know is how well you can use your tools. So you're free to do whatever you want for now."

Ruby nodded slowly. "Okay, tha--"

Another wave of the hand with the many rings. The teacher redirected his attention to the whole class and raised his voice. "First things first: Don't forget to carve your names into the underside of your stone." He paused for a few seconds before going on. "I'm going to tell you a little about soapstones while you're working. You've probably already noticed that these stones are incredibly soft and can be carved with a mere fingernail. This is due to the high content of talc--"

Ruby ignored the boring theoretical lecture Tsuwabuki was giving the class, even though he explained everything with a high amount of enthusiasm. Right now, Ruby's thoughts revolved around what he should carve from the soapstone in his hands.

Eventually, he began forming a rough shape. He didn't want to try something too complex and he knew he wouldn't be able to make it look like the nice sea rose image that suddenly stuck in his head. Still, he had nothing to lose (or to gain, for that matter), and didn't flinch when he accidentally filed a little too much away on one side.

He was so deeply preoccupied that he didn't notice how the time flew. He didn't listen to _what_ Tsuwabuki was telling them, but his voice was pleasant to listen to all the same. It seemed so sudden when the bell rang. Ruby's classmates fled the room in lightning speed. He wondered why.

Tsuwabuki sighed.

"What's wrong?" Ruby was walking around the room making himself helpful by collecting the files and sandpaper the other students had used and left behind. The small pile in his hands grew and felt heavier by the second.

Tsuwabuki was collecting tools as well. "Wanna know why they left the room in such a hurry?"

"Why?"

"Because they know I'd appreciate some help carrying everything back."

Ruby instantly felt angry. How could anyone deny _Tsuwabuki_ of all people, especially when doing him a favour? Then again, he smelled of the soapstone and of rust from the files, and he somehow felt the urge to take a shower. It made him understand why nobody wanted to help. Still, this was a chance he wouldn't want to miss, and he was smelling already anyway. "I'm going to help you, then."

The expression on his teacher's face was a mixture of surprise and pleasure. "Quite the gentleman, huh?"

"I just... don't see why I shouldn't help you, is all." Ruby knew that was a partial lie but he didn't really care. Getting closer to this hot piece of ass (yes, his ass looked really nice) was all that counted.

He hoped he didn't blush. Noticeably.

Ruby made his way to Tsuwabuki, who was already waiting with the rest of the soapstones. "Uh, by the way..." Ruby dreaded having started to say anything at all already.

"Yes?"

"Uh, what's your first name?" Tsuwabuki blinked at him. "I mean... this is a really dumb question and it just occurred to me because you seemingly signed one of your texts yesterday, and it's okay if you don't want to answer because... well, you're my teacher and we're not going to be on a first name basi--"

"Daigo. And you're rambling." They left the room, Ruby carrying the satchel containing the files and sandpaper, his teacher the bag with the soapstones. Ruby just followed his teacher's steps and hoped he wouldn't turn around and see him blush from embarrassment. They neared a teacher locker on another floor, eventually. Tsuwabuki (or should he start thinking "Daigo" from now on? Ruby rather liked that) placed his satchel on the floor and opened the locker, then turned around. "I'm gonna put everything in here." He took the satchel from Ruby's hands and placed it high up in the shelf.

Ruby was glad he didn't have to help anymore or even heft the heavy looking bag with the soapstones. That Tsuwabuki (...Daigo? Perhaps it was still too early for such an informal stage) was strong enough to not only do this, but carry it through a good portion of the school on top of that, impressed Ruby quite a lot.

This just made him want to get closer to this teacher all the more. A plan formed in his head and he didn't let this chance pass. "I actually have a question."

"Shoot." Tsuwabuki closed the locker, then turned to look at Ruby.

"I'm sorry if I'm asking quite a lot of you. I actually don't have any experience sculpting or carving, and your class seems a little more... well, advanced for me. But I'm sure I could catch up easily if someone taught me the proper techniques."

"All right. And what's the question?"

"Uh, could we perhaps meet after school and go through the basics? Like, only once or twice in total, I don't want to preoccupy so much of your time!"

Tsuwabuki glanced at the locker while he mulled this over. Eventually, he rested his gaze on Ruby once again. "Well. We _could_ do that but I don't know why you don't ask one of your classmates? It's important for you to make friends at your new school and teaching you helps them remember the things we already covered in class better as well."

Ruby gulped. This didn't go too well. "You're a proper teacher, though. And like I said, it's only about the basics, and not more than twice. If I feel like I still need additional help then, I'm gonna ask someone from class."

Tsuwabuki laughed a little. "You don't give up that easily, do you?" He fidgeted with his tie as he said, "You free this Thursday?"

Ruby beamed. His sewing club took place on Tuesdays and Fridays. "Yes, doesn't collide with my after-school class."

"Okay, I'm telling you where we meet on Thursday after our regular class. Just please make sure no one else gets wind of this, I don't need a line of students who want to take unpaid for private classes with me."

Ruby nodded. "No problem. And thank you. A lot." He bowed and hurried to his next class. He felt giddy with happiness and blushed deeply. The words "private classes" wouldn't leave his head for the rest of the day.

* * *

Wednesday didn't start off all that well. Ruby's P.E. teacher asked him for an official notice from a doctor. Ruby said he had an appointment later in the day, then that he needed to use the toilet. Sighing, his teacher let him go. Ruby sat in his stall for the rest of the class and booked a doctor's appointment via his smart phone and the magic of the internet. Too bad it collided with his incredibly boring literature class later that day. Too bad.

Blond dude was absent today, Ruby noticed as he entered the room for his sculpturing class. The loud brunette girl hadn't picked a fight with anyone else, obviously, and was making Ruby nervous by staring straight at him. Her eyes almost glowed in a deep blue.

"Uh, what's wrong?" Ruby asked cautiously. He didn't want her to get mad at him, too.

She looked confused, though, not angered in the least. "Ya new?"

Now Ruby was confused too. "It's my third day, so, yes. Or no, depending on how you mean this."

"Never noticedcha before! Ya in this class since Monday?"

"Uh, yes? And for the record, I've also been sitting next to you since then." He placed his messenger bag on his desk, then slowly slid into his seat.

"Wow." She seemed strangely fascinated by her own ignorance. "Ya shoulda said somethin'!"

Ruby blinked. "Yesterday you fought with this one blond guy. I don't see ho--"

"Ugh, don't gemme started on _him_!"

Someone cleared his throat in front of them. Ruby turned and looked directly into Tsuwabuki's face. "Thanks for noticing my arrival."

Ruby felt his cheeks grow hot. He could only pray that his blush felt more intense than it looked. He said, a little too loudly, "I'm sorry, sir!"

"Yeah, me too," mumbled the girl next to him. Then she started giggling before full out laughing. Ruby felt a strange sense of relief at that and had to chuckle a little, too.

Tsuwabuki shook his head but was smiling all the same. He straightened and directed his attention to the whole class. "You can continue on your projects. Everyone come to the front of the class, _orderly_ if I might stress a word, and get your stone and the tools you need." He pointed to the bag and the satchel and started taking out the items in question.

Ruby waited for the predicted ruckus, shoving, and insulting at the teacher's desk to pass until he got up to retrieve his things. He was the last one and Tsuwabuki had already started more or less fanboying about stones and their various characteristics again.

Time flew once more as Ruby concentrated on giving the petals of his sea rose shape. Everything looked still very rough and if he didn't know what the stone would eventually look like, even Ruby wouldn't be able to tell what it was he was shaping. Still, he was satisfied with today's work on his stone when the bell rang. As expected, everyone darted out of the room as fast as they could.

"Wanna help me again?" Tsuwabuki asked with a sigh. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Ruby smiled to himself. _Of course_ he wanted to help. If he could, he would spend way more time with Tsuwabuki. Still, he hoped he wouldn't sound too enthusiastic when he opened his mouth. "I don't mind."

They collected the works and tools everybody had left behind and brought them to the locker, as they had done the day before. They passed the procedure in a silence that felt comfortable to Ruby nonetheless. To him, it seemed like he was getting closer to the man of his dreams every day, and he couldn't be happier, even if the steps seemed small and insignificant.

* * *

Thursday began on a much better note than Wednesday had. Ruby's P.E. teacher was content with the medical certificate his doctor had written him without any prompting, and he found himself chatting with the brunette girl again. Her way of speaking was rough, but she seemed nice enough.

"Nah, ya weren't in lit yesterday. I'd totally noticed if ya were. We're in different classes."

"I just had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I was in literature class the days before, though, and I'm going to be there today, too." Ruby was astonished as to how her perception and attention seemed to work.

"Hard to imagine I've'n't noticedcha." She looked perplexed.

"How come?"

"Yer... I dunno how to put this without soundin' kinda offendin' butcha have this aura? Like, it's screamin' sparkles 'n stuff."

Ruby drew his eyebrows together in confusion. "Pardon me?"

"Whenever I look atcha and squint my eyes like this," she narrowed her eyes so much that her face contorted in a funny looking grimace and Ruby had to grin, "there's lotsa sparkles aroundcha!"

"It's probably this way because of how the light is getting through your eyelashe--"

"Ya don't hafta try and talk yer way outta yer obvious aura!"

Ruby shook his head lightly. He was glad for the distraction (and a distraction he was, oh yes) when Tsuwabuki entered the room. He was carrying both the bag and the satchel. "Yes, same procedure as every year." No one laughed and Ruby smiled wryly. He hoped Tsuwabuki turned out to be funnier than this. Sighing, the teacher added, "Or yesterday."

Ruby waited until after the small but obligatory commotion of who'd get his items first had taken place before reaching over his desk and pulling his own soapstone and a couple of leftover files over. Working on his sea rose took his mind off other things, and hearing Tsuwabuki's soft voice in the background made working more pleasant for him.

Today went well as far as Ruby's soapstone sea rose was concerned. He took it as a good omen and felt incredibly good when the bell rang and the other students rushed out of the room. Only the brunette girl lingered. "Slowpoke." She grinned at Ruby.

"Sorry. I'm going to help Mister Tsuwabuki carrying everything back." Ruby got up and started collecting the files.

"Huh. Ya been doin' that the last couple o' days, too?"

"Yes."

"Shush. I'm gonna help, too." She was already up and about, bringing the soapstones to the front desk.

"Uh, thanks." Ruby smiled yet didn't feel relieved. He shot Tsuwabuki a guilty look but he just smiled at the help he'd get while he was also walking around the room collecting tools and stones.

He led the way when they left the room and walked to the teacher's locker. "Pst." The girl made sure she and Ruby were a sure distance away from their teacher.

Ruby glanced at her. "What?"

"Ya happy with bein' the teacher's pet?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, carryin' his things for him, followin' him around like a love-struck fool."

Ruby gulped. This was a little too spot-on. He couldn't tell if she was speaking metaphorically or if she had an amazing perception. "It's not so bad. I mean it can't hurt my grades, right? And at the end of the day, that's what counts."

"I can't believe ya just admitted yer his pet." The girl grinned broadly.

"I'm not--"

"But I'm sure he likes them sparkles. Yers I mean." Her grin grew even broader.

Ruby sighed. It was weird being told something like this, and he knew she had a perfect motive for bullying him from now on. But instead she seemed to encourage him, and this confused him deeply. He just didn't know how to properly react.

At last they came to a halt next to the locker probably belonging to Tsuwabuki, relieving Ruby of having to answer. He had already opened it and placed the lighter satchel with the files inside, then turned to Ruby and the girl. "Just hand it over, I can heave it on my own."

Ruby nodded a little to enthusiastically and the girl shot him a sideways glance before they both raised the bag containing the soapstones. Tsuwabuki took it and Ruby's brain shut off completely.

Their fingers brushed, shortly, probably for not even a second. Nevertheless, an electrical shock shot through Ruby's fingertips, hand, arm, through his whole body. Tsuwabuki's skin felt hot and _good_. Ruby craved for more.

Now wasn't the right time though. They were standing in the middle of a crowded school hallway, not to mention the girl who noticed seemingly everything stood right next to Ruby.

When the teen came back to his senses, Tsuwabuki was already locking his locker. The girl was waving a hand in front of his eyes. "Still with us?"

Ruby blinked rapidly. "What? Uh, I mean, yes!"

She sighed as she stepped into his vision. "Still wanna have somethin' of my break left so... see ya in lit?"

"Yeah. I'll be there."

"By the way, I didn't catch yer name."

"Ruby."

Now she grinned. "Wow, we match! Mine's Sapphire!" Ruby opened his mouth to respond but didn't get the chance as the girl -- Sapphire -- was already running down the hallway and dodging the other people like bullets.

"She's like this everyday. I don't know where she gets all that energy from." Tsuwabuki looked after her, then turned to Ruby.

"Me neither."

"Anyway, we meet in the room we usually have class in, right after school. All right?"

Ruby nodded, grinning. "Yes sir!"

Tsuwabuki watched him and chuckled to himself as the boy sprinted away from him.

* * *

Even though he never expected it, literature class turned out to be fun sitting next to Sapphire and listening to her mock the teacher. She obviously held a grudge against the young looking but strict woman.

Sighing, Sapphire whispered, "Ya know why she hates me?"

"Not really, no." All Ruby could think of was her at times admittedly terrible pronunciation even though he couldn't make out what kind of accent this was supposed to be.

"See, I'm dyslexic."

"...And?" Ruby prompted.

"Nuttin'. That's it. I even have it black on white, from a doctor so I don't get bad grades for my spellin'. She can't do nothin' about my exams. But in class she keeps sayin' I'm just too stupid to write properly and dyslexia don't exist and's just a convenient excuse."

"Sounds like advanced bullshit."

Sapphire snorted. Their teacher immediately turned to her and initiated a glare battle she eventually lost. Ruby was proud of his new friend.

They didn't find another chance to talk during class but hugged each other goodbye when it was over. The gesture was spontaneous and Ruby was glad to have made a friend here already.

 _Now_ , Ruby thought and grinned to himself. He hurried to the classroom in which he had sculpturing to meet with Tsuwabuki. The door stood slightly ajar and Ruby risked a peek to check. Tsuwabuki was sitting on the teacher's desk and typing something into his phone.

Ruby entered the room and tried to silently close the door behind him. Then he approached his teacher. "Uh, hello."

Tsuwabuki finished his text and put his phone away before he turned to look at Ruby. "Hey." He got up from the desk. "Just sit in your usual seat."

Ruby nodded and did as he was told. His teacher got up from his desk and carried a new soapstone and a file over to Ruby, then sat down to his right. Ruby took a deep breath. He didn't want to end as a blushing giddy wreck that only managed to hurt himself.

"What's your actual project supposed to be?"

The question caught Ruby off-guard. "A sea rose. I know it still doesn't even remot--"

"Pst." Ruby went quiet immediately. Tsuwabuki spoke softly. "Stop rambling and instead calm down. You seem awfully tense for some reason." Ruby clung to the hope that his crush (that's what it was, right?) wasn't as obvious. Sapphire seemed to have seen through him but he couldn't tell for sure.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." His teacher smiled warmly at him. Ruby's heart picked up. "Let's get back to topic, shall we?" Ruby nodded silently. "A sea rose is quite complex. You don't use any reference, do you?"

"No."

"You should. Just google it with your phone."

"They're not allowed in class."

Tsuwabuki shrugged. "I don't care. It's not my problem if someone ends up failing my class because they used their phone. However, if they can use it to _not_ fail it, why shouldn't they?"

Ruby blinked. He hadn't quite expected such an open-mindedness.

"Alternately, you could print out some references and bring them to class. Or get a live sea rose."

Nodding, Ruby assured, "I'm going to do that. Thanks." Then he pointed to the new soapstone. "I guess I'm supposed to carve something out of this."

"Yes. But how about you choose a shape that's a little easier this time?"

Ruby fell silent to really think about this. _A heart's probably too obvious a choice. Hm... What about similar symbols, though?_ "Would a star be okay?"

"A five or a six pointed one?"

"Don't tell me I actually have to measure the angles."

"It'd help a great deal with accuracy. And I'd be really happy if you wouldn't half-ass this. I'm giving you the lesson for free, after all. I want to see some results."

Immediately Ruby nodded. "I think a six pointed star would be easier, considering the angles would all be 60 degrees."

Tsuwabuki shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. You can't be a hundred percent precise either way. So... choose whichever form you like better."

Ruby nodded again. "I think I'm still going with a six pointed star."

Tsuwabuki got up, walked over to his desk and took a protractor out of the top drawer. He slid it over the desks, then made his way back to the seat next to Ruby's. "You can use one edge of the file to carefully sketch out your outlines. Don't put too much pressure on it, though, or else you end up taking away more than you intended."

Ruby made sure to intentionally hold the file awkwardly before trying to carve rough outlines into the soft stone. He slipped and an edge he would have carved away much later broke away.

His teacher flinched. He looked pained. "Want me to show you how to properly hold the file? Or at least in a way that isn't as dangerous to both you and the stone."

"Please do." Ruby tried sounding helpless and overwhelmed by his clumsiness.

Tsuwabuki got up and his hands hovered above Ruby's. "May I?"

 _He's asking me if I let him touch my hands, right?_ Ruby swallowed a laugh. _It's weird that this can be considered sexual harassment or something._ Anyway, this was what he had been aiming for. He made sure that his hands didn't feel sweaty before answering. "Sure, go ahead."

First, Tsuwabuki changed the way Ruby was holding the file. Then he showed him how to properly carve slight outlines into the soft stone. Ruby was glad he'd just pretended to need help because he couldn't concentrate on what his teacher explained at all. Rather, his attention was fixated to the feeling of these big but still gentle hands. They were warm, as were the rings Tsuwabuki wore. The palms felt slightly calloused but Ruby couldn't tell for sure.

He almost sighed with disappointment when his teacher let his hands go. "Try it on your own, now," Tsuwabuki prompted and sat down to Ruby's right once again.

Ruby thought about intentionally screwing up one more time but he knew he wouldn't get through with his. He also didn't want to wear Tsuwabuki's patience down. So instead he decided to play along and use his tools well.

"Wow, you pick up fast."

Ruby smiled at this even though he knew he pretty much ruined his opportunity at a second "private class". Which meant he only had this one chance, now. He took a deep breath, heart hammering in his chest. "Uhm, Mister Tsuwabuki, I actually have another question." He put his work on his table. His hands had started shaking.

"Is something the matter?" Tsuwabuki implored.

He's _the one picking up fast._ Ruby took another deep breath. _Don't start rambling._ "Would you l--" _I_ can't _do it...!_ He went quiet and felt more than simply embarrassed.

"Everything all right?" His teacher sounded concerned.

"Y-Yes. I'm just nervous, is all..." He had to swallow.

"There's nothing to be nervous about." His voice sounded so caring and, even though it was contradictory to his words, understanding.

"It's got nothing to do with your class, though. It's irrelevant."

"Ruby." The teen in question blinked and turned to look at his teacher. His gaze was earnest but still warm. "Just because you think it doesn't matter doesn't mean that's true. I'm a teacher. It's part of my job to make sure you kids are all right."

The "you kids" part did it. Now Ruby definitely didn't want to tell him anything anymore. He suddenly felt like crying and he wanted to go home already. _I should've known from the start this was a stupid idea._ He stood up and took his backpack, walked over to the door and without turning around, said, "I can't talk about it," before leaving Tsuwabuki alone and probably confused.

* * *

Ruby pretended to be sick but eventually his dad made him go to school on Wednesday. He had had time to think about everything that had happened so far. He still wanted to get closer to Tsuwabuki. And he needed a different approach. He couldn't spend time with him having "private classes" all the time. It'd be suspicious, of both of them, and the last thing he wanted was to get the teacher into trouble. He wasn't responsible for this mess, no matter what would happen.

Reviewing the work sheets Tsuwabuki had sent him had helped Ruby get his mind off of everything, too. He didn't feel motivated in the least, though, and he more or less dragged himself to school. He made sure to skip P.E. by walking so slowly that he accidentally arrived at school over half an hour to late. However could this have happened?

Still, he had to be present in the rest of his classes, and being confronted with Tsuwabuki could turn out to be a good thing.

 _Could_ , it resounded in his mind as he slowly crept through the school's hallways. _Could_ , whispered a voice in his head as he killed off the remaining time wandering aimlessly through the building. _Could_ , it rang in time to the bell. _Could_ , Ruby told himself a final time as he entered the room and sat down in his seat.

He was the first one there but his classmates didn't take all that long to arrive. Blond guy was there again and when Sapphire walked through the door and saw him, she started growling like a wolf or a bear. Then her eyes fell on Ruby and she approached him as fast as she could. She almost walked by him.

Her grin was like sunshine. "Hey, yer back!"

"Hi." He couldn't help but smile.

"Ya been down with somethin'?" Ruby nodded. He didn't want to tell her he'd just pretended to be sick. "With what?"

"...The sickness."

"Oh my god." Sapphire sounded serious. Ruby blinked -- there was no way she'd just believe his obvious way out. Then she grinned and leaned a little closer to him. "Already referencin', huh? Couldn't've been too bad, then."

Ruby didn't know what sort of bizarre reference he'd just made. Sapphire seemed happy, though, and that was at least something.

They didn't have time to further engage in small talk as Tsuwabuki entered. He seemed normal enough on first glance, but on second Ruby could not help but notice the lines underneath his eyes.

He stifled a yawn, then nodded at Ruby. "Feeling better?"

Their eyes met (Tsuwabuki's glimmering with a green-ish sheen, not unlike a male duck's head) and Ruby noticed the genuine worry in them. It made the teen feel conflicted about what he should answer, so he just nodded dully.

Tsuwabuki frowned. "If you have the time, please stay a little after class."

Ruby nodded again, a little more enthusiastically this time. "I will."

A small smile showed on Tsuwabuki's lips. Then he spoke to the whole class. "We're having another theoretical lesson today, so please pay attention."

Ruby used the chance to talk to Sapphire. "Is he always so concerned about his students' health?"

"Nope, this is a first." She shrugged. "Hell if I know what's goin' on in that head of his."

"Shhh," Tsuwabuki hushed before continuing his lecture.

He only finished talking when the bell rang. Ruby had taken notes and copied everything Tsuwabuki had written onto the blackboard (his handwriting was surprisingly neat). Most students had already left the room.

Sapphire tapped Ruby's shoulder after he had finished packing his bag, making him look up. "Good luck, whatever's happenin'."

Ruby forced a smile. "Thanks. See you in lit."

"Ya too." She hugged him, shortly and kind of hard and uncomfortably, then left the room after the last batch of students who tried to squeeze through the too narrow door frame. She looked back over her shoulder to Ruby one last time before she closed the door behind her.

Ruby released a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He glanced to Tsuwabuki who was filling out something in his notepad. He didn't dare speak up first.

Eventually, Tsuwabuki was finished and looked straight at Ruby. "You look like a deer in the headlights."

Ruby smiled wryly. "Well, you look like you haven't slept in days." He regretted having opened his mouth immediately. "Excuse me, I didn't want to phrase it like this. It... came out wrong somehow."

Tsuwabuki sighed. "It's okay. I'd rather you be honest with me than pretend you're someone you're not." He glanced to the door for a second before looking back at Ruby. "The reason I made you stay is that I just _know_ something's up, even if you don't want to tell me what it is."

"Is this going to be some kind of cross-examination?"

"No. I just wanna know if my gut is right."

Ruby wanted to leave. He didn't like where this conversation was headed. "It is. Satisfied?"

Tsuwabuki lowered his gaze to his desk. "Not really. You're... Ugh... I don't want to insult you in any way, but you suddenly seem rude and jumpy towards me. Like you're on edge." He looked up again. "I want to know what's wrong so I can actively do and change something. It's important to me that I get along with my students."

"Well, you can't get along with everybody." Ruby hoped to shut him down with this. It was a truth nobody was able to deny.

Tsuwabuki recovered fast, though. "I know. I also know that you seem like a completely different person. Towards me, at any rate. You're still good with the girl."

"Her name's--"

"I'm bad with names."

"Yet you remember mine just fine."

Sighing, Tsuwabuki said, "That's not the point right now. Look, I don't wanna fight. All I want is find out what has you so upset." Ruby couldn't take this anymore. He got up from his seat and headed to the door. "You know, you don't have to tell me in person. You still got my number, don't you?"

Ruby didn't say anything as he left the classroom.

* * *

He spent the rest of the day in some kind of daze. He didn't even talk to Sapphire in lit but paying attention instead wasn't possible for him, either. His thoughts revolved around Tsuwabuki and what he should tell him. It was clear that he wouldn't let Ruby off the hook so easily.

The teen tried to distract himself with homework but wouldn't get anything done. He felt empty and horribly unmotivated. So he decided to just lie down on his bed and stare at his ceiling for what felt like hours. In reality, though, it didn't amount to more than 40 minutes.

He knew he couldn't escape Tsuwabuki's curiosity and finally decided that it was probably for the better to deal with it sooner rather than later. Ruby pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket and opened his contact list. He didn't need to scroll down much to reach Daigo Tsuwabuki (he changed the "D" to "Daigo" after he'd learned his teacher's first name). Texting him _was_ easier than saying it straight to his face so, slowly, Ruby began writing a message.

"it's about today. you still interested?"

He didn't have to wait for more than a minute for Tsuwabuki to respond. "hi. yes i m i hope its not 2 bad"

"it kind of is" Ruby regretted having started this conversation already. He dreaded having to confess.

"its ok. i wont judge u"

 _Yes, you will._ Ruby chuckled bitterly, without any humour. "i think i have this crush. on you" He forcibly shut his eyes and threw his phone against his bed's frame. He didn't want to see the response. If Tsuwabuki gave him one, that was.

The boy curled up and cried quietly. Why did these kinds of things have to keep happening to him? He didn't know what to do anymore. Eventually, he fell asleep, still crying.

* * *

When he woke up, it was already dark out. Instinctively he searched for his phone to lightly illuminate his surroundings with the lit-up screen. He found it not too far from him on the mattress.

He had totally forgotten about the texts.

Tsuwabuki's most recent one took up the screen, unasked for. "pls answer me or call me ruby this is more important than u might think"

Ruby checked the time. It was ten past midnight. He had nothing to lose, he figured, and going to sleep again wasn't an option. He was wide awake now and his heart was hammering against his chest. He dreaded making the call but nonetheless pressed the green phone button.

He told himself Tsuwabuki might not even be awake anymore or his phone's battery could be empty. Perhaps his text was just meant to comfort the teacher himself, telling him that he had at least tried to do something.

Yet Ruby didn't feel surprised at all when Tsuwabuki picked up on the first ring. "Ruby?" He sounded so worried and concerned Ruby had to swallow his guilt down.

"Yes. I'm here." His voice sounded unusually hoarse and his throat hurt. Ruby blamed it on his crying. He needed something to drink, so he stumbled through the dark to the bathroom.

"I'm seriously worried about you," Tsuwabuki cut right to the chase. "You haven't texted me in, what, five hours."

Ruby flicked the light on and narrowed his eyes against the stark brightness. "Sorry. I fell asleep."

"I was really scared." Ruby reached for his tooth mug and filled it with water. "I still am, don't get me wrong." The teen hummed in agreement, then took a long sip from his mug as Tsuwabuki continued to speak. "So, just to sorta officially confirm it... You like me?"

Ruby almost choked on his water. "Don't make me say it, it's embarrassing!"

"It's not." Tsuwabuki chuckled. "Anyway, I'm taking this reaction for a yes." Now he sighed. "Do you... Are you free on Saturday?"

 _He's not asking me out, is he?_ Ruby's heart almost did a back flip. This was going in a totally different direction than he had initially feared. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself down. He spoke slowly in an attempt not to taint his words with emotions. "Yes. You... have something in mind?"

"I'd like you to come over to my place. I think we really need to talk this through somewhere private."

Ruby nodded before realising that Tsuwabuki wouldn't be able to see it. "Uh, yeah, okay."

"Thank you. I hope we see each other later today, then." Right, it was past midnight already. Ruby didn't know if he could go to sleep again.

"I guess."

"Sleep well. And don't feel bad about anything, promise?"

"I'll try not to. And, thank you as well." Ruby yawned quietly. "Good night." Then, he hung up. He couldn't bear to hear this soothing voice any longer.

* * *

Like Wednesday had, the following days passed by without Ruby remembering anything of notice. Somehow he had ended up with Tsuwabuki's address, though, and they had spoken a little, but only about class related things Ruby couldn't for the hell of it recall. He had talked to Sapphire, too, a lot even, but what about he couldn't tell. It was weird. His memory was usually better than this.

Everything that happened felt like sand running through the gaps between his fingers. He couldn't grasp it, only look at what he's lost. But, he figured, it couldn't have been that important if he simply forgot. At least not nearly as important as visiting Tsuwabuki on Saturday afternoon and talking to him.

He had told his parents he would be going to a new friend to study for school with them. They let him go easily enough.

He was on his way, half happy about being with Tsuwabuki alone, in private, half afraid of what would happen. Ruby didn't want to get his heart broken and arrive back home in tears. Tsuwabuki had seemed friendly and understanding enough these past few days but Ruby just couldn't tell what this could mean (or not).

Heart racing with anticipation and uncertainty, Ruby rang the doorbell of the small estate which must be Tsuwabuki's home. Judging from the size, Ruby believed he lived by himself, even though the house seemed pretty spacious for one person alone.

Finally, Tsuwabuki opened the door. He smiled at Ruby. "Hey. Come on in."

"Hello." Ruby entered the house after he had looked his teacher over. It was strange seeing him in more casual clothes but he pulled the look off well. The tight shirt didn't fail to hide his good built underneath, and Ruby had to admit he liked this a lot.

The house looked bigger from the inside than the outside made it out to be. It was tidier than Ruby had expected (there were still magazines, socks and _stones_ of all things sprawled out everywhere, though). "How are you?" Tsuwabuki asked as he closed the door. "Kitchen's right to your right, by the way."

Ruby entered the aforementioned room. There was a stack of old newspapers on the table. "I feel all right. You?"

"Good, thanks. You want anything to drink?"

"Water's fine."

Tsuwabuki poured him a glass and made himself a coffee. With the beverages in hand, he made his way to the table. "Sit down. You can take off your jacket, if you like. And don't mind the papers, I just use them to wrap my more fragile stuff."

Ruby got out of his autumn jacket and hung it around a chair. "Like what?"

"Stones, gems, minerals, ores, metals, fossils... It's a passion, you could say. In case you didn't know, I also teach geology and geography." He sat down opposite of Ruby and pushed the glass of water in his direction. "Here you go."

"Thank you." He took a small sip. It didn't elude him that Tsuwabuki seemed to watch him. "So... you want to talk to me. In private."

"It's about your, uh, feelings." Talk about cutting right to the chase. Ruby's heart sank. His throat suddenly felt dry and he had the urge to drink a little more. "They still there?"

"Yes," Ruby admitted in a whisper. He was very aware of his blush.

Tsuwabuki nodded. "Assuming we did anything, _anything_ at all, even something as simple as, say, holding hands, you could get me into serious trouble. You know this?"

Ruby blurted, "I wouldn't tell anyone!"

The teacher stayed calm. "You wouldn't have to. What if someone saw us by pure chance? What if someone deems our behaviour suspicious and accuses us of having an affair?"

Ruby gulped. He didn't like where this conversation was headed at all. "I'm... not needy. It'd be okay if we met each other privately once a month. I already said I wouldn't tell anybody. It's... like I don't want to get anyone at all into trouble. I'd have to keep it secret for my own sake, too. My dad would kill me if he found out, you know." He looked down into his glass and watched his reflection. It frowned back at him.

"You'd have to switch out of my class."

"...Why?" Ruby looked up again.

"Because I could still get into trouble in, say, ten years from now if someone found out I had a relationship with one of my students. I'd have a bad conscience, even if nobody ever even suspected a thing."

Ruby nodded slowly. "If that's what it takes, I'm gonna ask on Monday, right before the first period, if I can switch out of your class."

"You seem strangely passionate about this." Tsuwabuki smiled. The skin around his eyes crinkled, making the expression look both genuine and warm.

"I still don't know what you want to achieve with this conversation. Everything we've talked about so far sounded hypothetical, Mister Tsuwabuki."

"Please call me Daigo."

"Mister Daigo." Ruby's eyes widened when he realised his mistake, and he felt himself turning a vivid shade of red. He pulled his beanie down into his eyes in a hopeless attempt to escape his shame. 

The man in question laughed at this, then took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Well, I've given you all the cons I could think of from the top of my head and you shot down each and everyone of them. You're determined, and that's a good quality to possess. And I have to admit, you're interesting. There's so many things I don't know about you, so many layers to you, I suppose... you're kind of like soil. There's so much to you I want to... explore."

Ruby blushed madly. He gripped his glass of water with a shaking hand and downed it.

"Don't get me wrong, though," Tsuwa-- Daigo continued. "I haven't developed any feelings for you... yet. But I'd like to give it a shot. I just need to get to know you better, I think, and this could actually stand a chance at working out." He took a long sip from his coffee, then rested his head on one of his hands. "What do you say?"

"I... I don't want to get my heart broken." Ruby looked down again into his now empty glass.

"Neither do I. But you said yourself it's merely a crush. And who knows, perhaps we find out that we just don't fit." Tsu-- Daigo (Ruby had to constantly remind himself) smiled. It helped ease Ruby's mind.

He felt more than happy anyway. After all, he actually stood a chance with the man of his dreams (or sculpturing/carving class). "Then let's try this."

Daigo laughed. "You wanna kiss me?"

That caught Ruby off-guard, even though he believed kissing was _the_ relationship gesture. "O-On the lips?"

"I'd love that."

"I've never kissed anyone before! I don't know how it works." It was weird, really. On the one hand, Ruby wanted to badly kiss this man, on the other one, he didn't want to kiss him _badly_. It was a predicament to be stuck in.

"It's not that hard. And I'm a teacher." Daigo had rested his head on one of his hands, arm propped on the table by the elbow, again. Looking like this made him hard to resist.

"Yeah, for sculpturing and geo-stuff!"

"Doesn't mean I don't know anything else." His smile turned smug. "C'mon, try it at least before outright saying no."

Reluctantly, Ruby got up. He wasn't sure anymore of what he should do. He walked around the table to Daigo's side. The man watched him with amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"Say," Ruby tried to put off the inevitable, "your eyes seem to change colour. Sometimes they look blue, sometimes green, sometimes yellow. Do you wear contacts?"

Daigo laughed. He had to sit upright. "Nope. My eyes just are like this. No idea why, I never thought about it to be honest. Same goes for my hair, if you're interested." He mustered Ruby's face, or rather his eyes, then. "What about you, though? Red's an unusual eye colour."

"It's natural. But I _do_ wear contacts. I'm near-sighted..." He trailed off. He didn't want to come across as unattractive because his eyes weren't as reliable as they should have been.

"Don't like glasses?"

"They're okay I guess? I simply prefer contacts." Ruby hadn't registered how he had slowly edged closer to Ts-- Daigo until he stood only inches in front of him.

Daigo grinned and patted his lap. Only now did Ruby realise that the man sat relatively far away from the table. Ruby went red when he understood what Daigo wanted him to do. "I don't want to come across as a dirty old man but I don't think I can help it, given the situation."

"No, you can't."

"I won't touch you anywhere without your consent. Hell, you don't even have to do this if you don't want to, Ruby, but something tells me you actually do."

Sighing internally, Ruby said, "You're right." He narrowed his eyes to collect his thoughts. "It's just... I'm scared. That I screw everything up or that I won't like it after all."

Daigo reached out to him and gently touched his cheek. Ruby opened his eyes and allowed himself to lean into the soft touch. "There's nothing to be scared about. First times can be awkward, no matter the subject. I don't care about your performance either way because that's not what's important. And it's not like we can't just call it a day should you find out you don't like doing this."

 _He's really good at calming me down for some reason._ Ruby didn't want to admit this thought out loud, though, so all he said was a simple, "Thank you." Then, he placed his hands on Daigo's broad shoulders, refusing to sit down on the man's lap.

Daigo was the one who leaned in and closed the gap. He was careful to not touch Ruby with anything but his lips as he tenderly pressed them against the teen's. He felt Ruby tremble but still return the gesture. He stepped away after a couple of seconds and pulled his beanie into his face in an attempt to hide his blush.

"What are you ashamed of?" Daigo asked softly.

Ruby didn't look up and kept his eyes tightly shut. "Th-The situation! It's weird!"

"You're thinking way too much about all this." He sounded so calm Ruby couldn't help but look up and straight into Daigo's eyes. The man smiled up at him and Ruby cracked a smile in return, too. "Wanna try it one more time, or have you had enough?"

"I'm not sitting on your lap."

"You don't have to."

"I'd still like to sit, though. And it's stupid doing this in the kitchen, don't you think?"

Ruby's hand flew up to cover his mouth when Daigo said, "You have a point." He slid back a little with his chair, then stood up. Holding out a hand to Ruby, he asked, "Would you prefer the living room?"

"I can't tell. I don't know what it looks like." Still, he gripped Daigo's hand. It seemed enormous compared to his own, but the touch was gentle as the older man closed his fingers around Ruby's.

Hand in hand, Daigo in the lead, the two walked to the living room, located down the hall from the kitchen. Ruby loosened his grip and withdrew his hand when he entered, taking a good look around.

The walls were stacked bottom to top with shelves and glass cabinets, even underneath the windows and the space in-between. They all displayed various kinds of stones, minerals and the likes, each carefully labelled. It was like walking into a museum, not a living room.

A low, "Wow" escaped Ruby's lips as he turned around in wonder. Finally, his eyes registered not as unusual furniture: a big flat screen hung on a wall between and on top of shelves, there was a comfortable looking sofa not too far from it, and also a small but homely looking table with chairs surrounding it. It didn't look like a work desk but rather like a place where you could play board games or eat dinner.

"Yeah, you probably think I'm a nerd." Tsuwa-- Daigo's (Daigo! He should get that into his head already) voice brought him back to reality.

Without thinking, Ruby replied, "You are." Hastily, he added, "In a positive sense, though! You're obviously very dedicated to your, uh, hobby."

Daigo laughed. "That's one way to put it." He headed towards the sofa and Ruby followed him slowly. "What about you? Do you have any hobbies?"

"I actu--" He stopped dead in his tracks. He wasn't sure if he could trust Daigo with his "girly" interests. But so far the man had proven himself to be strangely supportive so Ruby took a deep breath and started anew. "I actually love sewing. I have a thing for make up, too. It can make people look so different, it's kinda like magic."

"You in the school's sewing club?" Daigo sat down on his sofa and Ruby joined him not too long after.

"Yes." He released a sigh of relief. Daigo was so open-minded and took every revelation well... Just thinking about this made Ruby's heart beat faster.

"May I?" Daigo changed the subject. His left arm hovered over Ruby. He wanted to lay it around him, obviously.

"Go ahead." The touch was careful and it seemed to Ruby as if Daigo's hand didn't weigh anything at all. Then, it pressed gently against him, pushing him towards Daigo.

"I'd love to kiss you again."

Ruby wasn't sure if he saw right but he thought he could make out a faint blush on his teacher's cheeks. He himself had turned a violent shade of red at the words and his heart was pumping even faster. In a whisper, Ruby said, "Please do."

He closed his eyes. The pair of lips brushing his own were soft. It felt too good to be true. Daigo gently caressed Ruby's shoulders as he increased the pressure of lips against lips. Ruby didn't know what to do at all (besides returning the kiss, of course), so he decided on doing nothing -- this way, he couldn't do anything wrong, right?

The kiss lasted much longer than their first one. In fact, they were still kissing when Ruby started wondering when the time was right to pull back. Daigo made a completely different decision, though, as he inclined his head slightly to one side and opened his mouth against Ruby's. The teen knew where this was headed. The thought of frenching sounded positively thrilling and made him blush even more profusely, even with the fear of screwing up royally nagging at the back of his mind.

So Ruby opened his mouth, too. He knew what he was getting himself into and at the same time didn't expect all these feelings, this pure and simple pleasure at _really_ kissing someone. He wanted to savour the moment, etching it as well on his memory as he could manage at the moment (his brain wasn't working all that well for some reason).

As soon as Daigo pulled away and ended the kiss, however, it seemed hard to remember what it was like. "I'm sorry if I pushed you a little too far." He smiled sheepishly and looked strangely cute this way, especially combined with his deepened blush.

Ruby felt like he would be falling even harder for this man. Heart racing and face burning, he replied, "I'm glad you did. I'd love to do this again."

Grinning happily, Daigo leaned in once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> update: fixed some grammar and spelling mistakes (January 18th, 2015)

It had been a month since his 18th birthday. The early August sun shone relentlessly and everything seemed to radiate with heat. It was almost unbearable.

Ruby wished he owned a slave like the privileged did 2000-and-something years ago, holding a huge palm tree leaf and sending cool air towards him. Or at least a car with an air conditioner, that would do, too. The street in front of him seemed to stretch endlessly. Mirages that looked like puddles of fresh water grazed the hot pavement but vanished as he got closer.

It was the first time ever that the walk from his place to Daigo's turned into a drag.

They had kept their relationship secret all these years and still hadn't told anyone about it. The only person who had figured it out was Ruby's talkative but perceptive best friend, and she was witty beyond helping. She could keep her lips sealed, even though she was one to voice her thoughts out loud all the time, and had proven so ever since... well, pretty much ever since Ruby had laid eyes on Daigo.

But apart from her, no one knew. Ruby could tell that this fact wore on Daigo, too. Ruby, especially, wanted to be careful about it, even though neither his parents nor the authorities could forbid it anymore. He just _knew_ his father would throw a fit and him out of the house. He sighed; he didn't understand why people would think almost ten years difference in age was something to raise eyebrows at. The important thing was that the relationship was healthy and worked; nothing else mattered to him.

Ruby knew it'd be both easier, faster and safer if he just walked the remaining mile instead of asking his boyfriend to come pick him up. He wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and it came away sweaty. Ruby grimaced. Sometimes he hated summer with a special passion.

Ruby decided to take a detour that took him partway through a forest. There, it would be a little cooler and he could walk in the trees' shades. It had been dry the last couple of days, too, so the ground wouldn't dirty his shoes.

Thankfully, the path through the woods was indeed cooler and easy to walk. All too soon Ruby found himself wandering in the unforgiving sunlight on the hot pavement again, but at least he could already see Daigo's house from where he left the protection of the forest.

Even though he would sweat even more if he did this, he decided to jog the rest of the way. He led himself onto Daigo's property and walked around the small house into the garden, climbing the fence as he had so often before. Everything was lined with trees that provided a much sought-after cover from the sun.

"Oi, Daigo!" he called. The door to the basement stood open and Ruby walked towards the stairs leading down to it. "Daigo?"

A muffled, "Basement," made its way to Ruby and he headed down the steps. It was refreshingly cold down there, even without fans or air conditioning. The whole room was stacked with strange and sometimes admittedly beautiful stones and gems, weird minerals and odd metals. Daigo collected them all. Right now he sat hunched over something on his work desk, lamp illuminating the basement in an unnatural bright glow.

Ruby approached him from behind and wrapped his arms around his torso, right beneath his arms. "Whatcha doing?" he asked and rested his head on Daigo's right shoulder.

"Cleaning a fossil," Daigo answered as if this was a normal, everyday occupation like shopping. He was carefully brushing dust and sand off tiny bones.

"From a dinosaur?" The bones looked small but there had been really small dinosaurs, too, right? (Ruby wasn't all that keen on dead stuff but he had to admit he was a little fascinated. Fossils could be interesting, he supposed. Depending on what kind of fossil, of course.)

Daigo chuckled. It made Ruby smile. "No, nothing as exciting. It's actually a sub-fossil. Not old enough to be a real fossil. Anyway, it's a wolf or dog puppy's paw. See the claws?" He pointed to them.

Now that he knew what he was looking at, Ruby could see it, too. He felt like an idiot. "Oh. Ohhh." He laughed, embarrassed.

"I can trade it at the museum for a really nice piece of amber."

"You can't get enough, huh."

Daigo grinned. "It's blue, actually."

"Since when is amber blue?" Ruby let go and looked at his boyfriend, inclining his head to one side questioningly.

Daigo turned to look at him and smiled. A blush crept up his neck. "Blue amber is extremely rare and just as valuable. It stems from a certain kind of tree, hence the unique nature of it."

Ruby nodded throughout the explanation. He could feel his face grow hotter, too. "...And you've been sitting at the fossil all day?"

"Pretty much."

"Careful, you might turn into one, too." Ruby grinned cheekily. Daigo got up, chair creaking behind him as he did so, and pulled Ruby off his feet. The teen was still a head smaller than his boyfriend, and probably wouldn't grow the remaining few inches anymore. He didn't care, though; he liked getting picked up and carried around, although he would never admit it out loud.

Their lips brushed. Ruby made sure to place a small kiss on Daigo's, and he got one just as chaste in return. It made the teen giggle and his heart flutter as if this was something fresh and new, as if they hadn't been seeing each other for years.

When his feet were placed back on the ground, Ruby took a step back to be able to look into Daigo's face. When he did, he asked, "Have you _finally_ gotten around to fixing the freezer?" It had been broken for years, apparently, and Daigo had used it as additional storeroom. For his stones. (Ruby thought it a miracle this man had been able to live all this time on his own.)

"Does it still count if I wasn't the one doing the fixing?"

Ruby already grinned. "...Depends on what's inside."

"The freezer?"

"Uh-huh." Ruby made his way to the stairs inside the basement. He could hear Daigo's steps behind him. "It's awfully hot out and you don't help matters."

"Why, thank you." Daigo sounded happy. Ruby couldn't help but smile. "You probably don't wanna strip for me so here goes a more kid-friendly suggestion: You should've brought your swimming trunks so we could've gone to the pool."

"You just want to see my naked, you pedo." He half turned to flash Daigo a grin.

He had his eyebrows raised and his all too familiar face on that said, 'Yes.' "Gimme a good reason why I shouldn't."

Ruby opened the door in front of him and headed towards Daigo's kitchen. He needed something to drink. "Dad would execute you. And probably make me watch, too."

Daigo sighed. "I'm sorry you can't just tell your parents, like everyone else."

"It's not your fault they have sticks up their asses." Ruby poured himself a glass of water. "You've been in your basement all day, right? You should drink something, too."

"Just water, please."

"Mhm." Ruby handed the glass he originally poured for himself to Daigo. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

The teen prepared another glass of water for himself and sat down on the sink. The liquid tasted incredibly good and he had to pour himself yet another glass. He sighed happily and placed the now empty glass next to him. It clinked when Daigo put his own empty glass down next to it.

Ruby searched his eyes and their gazes locked. Unspoken understanding passed between them and it didn't take more than a couple of seconds until Daigo's hand was caressing the back of Ruby's head as they began kissing.

It started slowly as only a brushing of lips against lips. Ruby locked his arms around Daigo's neck as the older man inclined his head a little to the left. Ruby positively melted into the kiss as it deepened and their tongues touched. It was a careful gesture, as if asking the other party if they were okay with going this far. Ruby loved the caring and gentle nature of it.

Daigo never pushed him, he never demanded more than what Ruby could give him. They had never touched each other purposely below waist level much less done anything more sexual than a little testing and experimenting, mostly kissing. It didn't mean that they didn't _want_ more, per se, they just had silently agreed to wait until Ruby felt ready. He was insecure enough about his body as it was (it had taken him months to show Daigo the scars on his forehead), and for him something as intimate as sex was not just a step, it was a leap.

Ruby was caressing the tender skin at Daigo's neck where his hairline began, then moved his hands up a little to dig them into the full hair. He felt like going a little further today, so he broke the kiss, albeit shortly, to whisper, "Come a little closer."

Daigo did as he was told and Ruby wrapped his legs around Daigo's waist and his arms around his neck again. He gripped his shoulders to steady himself as Daigo picked him up, arms slung around Ruby's torso, careful not to touch his butt. "How may I interpret this?"

"Fooling around." A girly giggle escaped his lips, then he had to laugh. Daigo joined him. "Although this feels way more uncomfortable than I thought it would."

"It'd be easier for me if I could, well, put my hands on your ass."

"Then go for it." The touch against his butt felt nice. Daigo didn't grope, he merely shifted Ruby's weight to be able to carry him more easily. "Daigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"I'm really glad that you're not pushing me. You're incredibly patient and careful with me, and it makes me feel so... I don't know, precious? Like a fragile vase you have to handle with the utmost care." And it was true. Ruby meant what he said. "And, you know, you could so easily have taken advantage of this situation, and so many others before, and you never have."

"I'd say it's only natural." Daigo carried his boyfriend to his bedroom. "I don't get why people have to be so pushy and abusive. I'd never want to hurt anybody, especially not the person I love."

Ruby felt his face grow hotter than ever. He didn't trust his voice to respond, so he simply pressed another kiss onto Daigo's lips to speak for him. The kiss was returned immediately, and Ruby moved on to his boyfriend's right cheek and over to his ear, whispering, "You're so sweet."

"'m trying my best." Daigo gently lowered Ruby onto his bed. "Wanna make out a little more?"

Ruby smiled up at him. "Certainly."

Daigo climbed on top of him and proceeded with kissing Ruby who had his hands again tangled in the older man's hair. It felt good getting his scalp massaged in return, and the weight of his boyfriend sprawled on top of him was strangely reassuring. And alluring.

Trailing his lips off more and more, Daigo finally left butterfly kisses down Ruby's neck, starting at his jawline and slowly working his way down. Ruby couldn't help but giggle -- he was exceptionally ticklish on his neck for some reason. He erupted into full-out laughter when Daigo licked up his way to Ruby's face again.

He stopped and looked down at the teen who finally seemed to calm down a little. Ruby breathed in, long and loud, then opened his eyes and started laughing again, right into Daigo's face. He had to laugh, too, now, and why not abuse his position and start tickling his boyfriend for real?

So he moved down his hands and trailed his fingers lightly over Ruby's armpits. "You want me to touch you here?" he asked in a husky voice.

Ruby didn't know if he was laughing at this dirty talk or at being tickled in an area even more sensitive than his neck. "S-Stop it!"

"No. I know you like it." He increased the pressure a little to tickle Ruby even more. The poor teen laughed harder and harder. It was contagious and Daigo couldn't resist joining in.

"I-It!" Ruby managed to wheeze. "Eyes! Te-Te-Tears!"

Daigo stopped and looked. It was true -- there were tears in Ruby's eyes. "Aw," Daigo whispered and leaned down to voicelessly speak directly into Ruby's ear, "a little too much for you to take?"

Ruby needed to take a few deep breaths to calm himself before he answered. "For a second there I thought I was gonna choke." Now Daigo was the one to crack up. He couldn't hold himself up and fell on top of Ruby. "Ouch."

Daigo managed to say, "Spanking you a little too hard, am I?", then giggled.

"Calm down, you big 5-year-old." Ruby had wrapped his arms loosely around his boyfriend's waist and patted his back. Daigo took his time going quiet, and when he had, Ruby said, "You're heavy, you know?"

"Sorry." Daigo pushed himself up, then rolled over to lie next to Ruby. "You're just so soft, I can't help it." He grinned at Ruby, cheeks rosy from blush.

"I thought you preferred, well, things that are hard, like--"

Daigo cut him off with his laughter.

Ruby let him. It wasn't all bad having Daigo laugh hysterically. He looked really cute when he did, after all. He had his eyes squeezed shut tightly, crinkles forming at their corners. A faint blush was visible on his cheeks. Nonetheless, Ruby raised his voice to say, "This was not intentional."

"But," Daigo said after he had calmed down enough to speak, "you have to admit that sounded like a double entendre, even if you didn't mean it to." He was lying on his back now and looked over to Ruby. He grinned maliciously. "Or perhaps you did. Unconsciously."

"Uh-huh, sure." Ruby's tone was flat and he shook his head a little as he spoke. "Why make it easy and just tell you to fuck me so hard I can't walk for the next couple of days and you need to carry me around?"

Daigo chuckled. "You want that?"

"Wouldn't say no to getting carried around." Ruby smiled sweetly.

Sighing, Daigo sat up. "You're heavy."

"I'm not that fat. And you're strong." Without any forewarning whatsoever Daigo lifted the hem of Ruby's t-shirt. "Hey, what's that for?" The teen blushed madly.

"Just checking." Daigo pulled it down again, then looked Ruby in the face. In an earnest voice he said, "You're not fat at all."

"After the ice cream you're gonna treat me to I will be."

Ruby expected Daigo to say something in regard to the ice cream or make a lame "sugar daddy" joke. He was positively surprised when his boyfriend instead said, "I doubt that, but even if you should gain weight you're stuck with me."

"That was... unexpectedly swee-heeey!" Ruby was scooped up into Daigo's arms, bride-style. At least he could pretend he blushed because of that instead of the preceding sappiness on Daigo's part. (It was still something nice to hear.) "Wha--"

"I'm carrying you to the freezer you wanted me so badly to repair."

"Don't tell me you actually replaced those stones in there with ice cream." Ruby had wrapped his arms around Daigo's neck. He felt uncomfortable not being able to see the floor at all so he looked up to let Daigo's face give him some reassurance.

"Partly. Don't underestimate the joys of frozen pizza." Daigo grinned at Ruby who had to close his eyes and sigh dramatically.

"You should _finally_ get yourself a cookbook."

"I don't want to end up with food poisoning."

"It's not that hard to use more than your microwave, you know." Ruby honestly didn't understand Daigo's problem. He'd always liked cooking for himself, being able to create something that could make his mouth water pleasantly. It was also some sort of independence not to have to rely on mass-produced food with all sorts of unnatural "ingredients", or on his parents. "If you want me to, I could teach you a little."

"I'd rather have you cook us a romantic candlelight dinner."

"And what's your part in this scenario?"

Daigo gently set Ruby down in front of the freezer. Ruby had feared he would lose his footing due to the way he'd been carried but he felt secure with not only having regained the ground under his feet again, but actually being able to see it. "Lighting the candles, of course."

Ruby almost sighed again. Under his breath, he muttered, "Using flintstones, I bet..."

"They're actually called 'flints'. Anyhow, I like your way of thinking. Wanna give it a try sometime?"

He didn't even need to think about this offer. "No."

"Their edges are pretty sharp and they have been used as cutting tools back in the day. How doe--"

"I said, 'No.'" He glared at Daigo. "I'm not a caveman."

"It'd be fun to pretend."

"No."

"You... can paint on the walls!" Daigo grinned.

Ruby chose to ignore him and opened the freezer instead. He was indeed greeted with several bowls of ice cream as well as a pile of frozen pizza. "Want to share a bowl?"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm taking the coffee flavoured one."

"I don't mind." Ruby reached into the cold of the freezer and took out a bowl worth a litre of mocha ice cream. "Wanna watch a movie?"

Ruby handed the freezing bowl to Daigo. "Sure." When he saw Daigo's eyes lit up, he hastily added, "Not your stupid stone porn again."

Daigo placed the bowl on the freezer he had just closed. "It's just a documentary."

"Yeah, a feature length movie one, and don't even pretend it doesn't make you horny. Last time I thought you would try... something... with me..." It flustered him thinking about it, but Ruby still wanted to stand his ground. "Anyway, it's boring as hell."

"It's not." Daigo crossed his arms. He looked like he would pout any second now.

"Don't be such a big baby about it. Let's just watch a cute Disney movie and enjoy the ice cream, and maybe make out a little." He strolled off into the kitchen to get a couple of spoons, deliberately walking slowly. He hoped Daigo would have moved by the time he would pass him again on his way to the living room instead of pretending to have turned into a statue. (A _stone_ statue, he added in his mind.)

Pleased, he noted Daigo was gone by the time he returned, as well as the bowl of ice cream. Ruby entered the living room to already closed blinds, and shut the door behind him. It was a little too dark for him to be able to see more than rough shapes, so he waited for the TV screen to light up and faintly illuminate the room, then took careful steps towards the sofa.

Daigo patted the place next to him and Ruby sat down there. He laid an arm around the teen's shoulder and whispered, "Wanna cuddle?"

Ruby didn't answer verbally. Instead, he inched closer to Daigo until he practically sat in his lap. He reached out to the ice cream bowl. "Do you have a towel?"

"Uh, lemme get one. One second." Daigo got up, making Ruby shuffle off him, and quickly left the room. It didn't take long for him to return with a towel in hand. He closed the door behind him before he headed back to his boyfriend. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Ruby wrapped the towel around the bowl so the moisture around it wouldn't dampen his clothes. It also helped lessen the coolness somewhat; he didn't want his legs to freeze. Setting the bowl on his lap, he slowly pried it open.

Daigo slipped in next to Ruby and pulled him onto his lap.

The atmosphere was relaxing, and the dark and the ice cream helped a great deal to cool Ruby down. He even started to shudder a little which caused Daigo to wrap his arms around him in an attempt to warm him up again. Ruby decided kissing with freezing lips and tongues was fun but unfortunately warmed up the affected parts (and some unaffected ones) way too fast.

Ruby's sense of time was not only muddled by sitting in the dark for well over an hour, but also by the sensual kissing that took an indefinite amount of time longer than the credit roll. He almost bit his tongue when he felt his phone vibrate in his pants pocket.

"Sorry," he whispered, and took it out. The screen flashed with information about the incoming call, and shooting Daigo a guilty glance, Ruby accepted it. "Hi, Dad."

The voice on the other end sounded a little more tinny than what he was used to hearing. "Ruby. Do you know what time it is?"

Ruby took a deep breath. He neither wanted to panic nor did he want to get angry. "No, but you call--"

"No? It's past eight, and we told you to be home at seven!" He sounded mad but not quite furious.

"Thank you for the info, I'm already on my way."

"Where are you right now? I'm going to pick you up," he said in a serious tone.

 _Shit._ Ruby felt his eyes widen in panic. Daigo reached out to him and took his free hand, squeezing it in support and comfort. "Y-You don't have to! I... should be home in 15 minutes, tops!"

"You better are." Then he hung up, just like that.

Ruby inhaled deeply once again and put his phone away. "I'm so sorry."

Daigo squeezed his hand again. "It's okay. And, uh, as mean as this sounds, I'm kinda used to it."

"I know, and this makes me feel even more guilty." He looked down and by the faint light from the TV he could see his hands curl in on themselves.

"You're not responsible for anything your parents do, Ruby. And I'm not angry, and if I _am_ disappointed, it's not because of you but of your parents. You're 18, for God's sake, and old enough to make your own choices and decisions. If your parents don't, can't accept this, you're only suffering, but not the one at fault." Daigo's voice was so soft and understanding, Ruby's eyes started to water.

"I know you're right," Ruby answered with a shaky voice, "but I'm still denied this freedom and... honestly, sometimes I wish my parents knew because I tell myself it'd be easier this way."

"Perhaps it would be. But from what I can tell, at least your father's not going to take it lightly." Daigo took both of Ruby's hands now and held them lightly in his own. Their fingers intertwined. "Look at me." Reluctantly, the teen looked up and met Daigo's eyes. "It's your choice whether you tell anyone or not, but whatever you do, I'll support you. I can understand the situation... the predicament you're stuck in, and, however you choose, I am and will be always by your side. Okay?"

Ruby nodded, slowly. "Okay." His voice was raspy for some reason. "Thank you, Daigo. I..." He kissed him on the lips, lightly but long, and hoped this gesture would carry its intended meaning. He was pretty certain it did, for Daigo returned the kiss immediately.

When he pulled away, Daigo asked, "You said 15 minutes, right?"

"Yeah. I won't make it and if I'm lucky then Dad's only gonna ground me."

"He won't get a chance to." When Ruby looked at him questioningly, Daigo added, "C'mon, hop into the car. I'm taking you part of the way."

"Oh. Thank you."

"No need to thank me." Daigo smiled, placed a peck on Ruby's lips, then got up and turned off the TV and the DVD player. Meanwhile, Ruby opened the blinds again, narrowing his eyes against the stark sunlight streaming into the room.

As he made his way out of the house and to the carport, Daigo got rid of the now empty ice cream bowl and took his keys. He locked the front door behind him, figuring no one would try to climb his fence like Ruby liked to do, and headed to his car.

It was an old model, black and unassuming, and didn't have an AC (or a CD player, much less anything remotely modern). In the open, the air was thick with heat and hard to breathe, and it wasn't much better in the stuffy car, even though it had been standing in the shades for hours, if not the whole day. Daigo got in on the driver's side and rolled his window down a little.

He needed two tries to start the ignition, and Ruby felt like he was sitting in a massage chair, not a car, when the motor finally began rumbling. He'd only been in Daigo's car once before, and every second he remembered more clearly why he had never felt the urge to get in there again.

"Can you let me out four blocks south from here?"

"Will do."

The car seemed to jump backwards and Ruby could swear his heart stopped beating there for a second or two. Then the car veered out onto the street, tyres screeching. Ruby could tell they went a little too fast. "Who fucking gave you your driver's license?"

Daigo chuckled. "I think my examiner was just glad he got out of it alive."

"And then he just gave you the license? Like a reward for not giving him a heart attack or being run over by a truck?"

"Yep."

"Honestly, that was a grave mistake on his part. You're driving worse than me." (His parents never let him have the car and get some practice.) Ruby just now noticed how his fingers had unconsciously dug into his seat.

"Compliments come in the strangest disguises."

"That wasn't a compliment." They almost ran over a squirrel, only coming to a halt in the last possible moment. Ruby was sure they were leaving brake marks. "See? This is what I mean! It's dangerous."

"Not for us."

"Yes, fo--"

"Ruby, we're still in one piece, right? And I'm not using the car that often, it's mainly there for convenience's sake." It was amazing how this man could run over a red light while simultaneously stay so calm.

"I'm still afraid for my life. And yours, too... Please, you don't have to speed. It's dangerous."

"So's your dad."

Ruby closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was exhilarating in all the wrong ways. "He's not gonna kill me, but your driving eventually is."

Without the slightest indication, Daigo suddenly braked again. Someone behind him honked and passed him, waving one fist angrily in the air. Daigo just laughed it off. "We're here."

Ruby took off his seatbelt. Before he escaped the dangerous vehicle, though, he reached out to touch Daigo's cheek. "Promise me you'll drive more carefully from now on. I'm scared something bad could happen to you just because you went too fast." Before his boyfriend could protest, Ruby quickly leaned in and pressed a peck onto his lips. "Okay?"

"I'm gonna try."

Ruby sighed. "Trying is not good enough."

"Old habits die hard. But I promise you I'm gonna try, and this is the best I can do for now. My driving'll probably have improved a lot by the time you decide it's a good idea to set foot into my car again." Daigo looked sincere. Ruby sighed again -- there wasn't any more he could say, was there?

Resignation showed on his face, and he decided to change the topic. "I gotta go. Today was really fun."

"Definitely." Daigo smiled sweetly. His cheeks grew rosy and Ruby felt his own face warm, too. He went for another kiss, this one slow and intimate. "You gonna text me when you're home?"

"Yeah. You, too. Please. Don't make me worry."

"Mhm." Daigo nodded. Ruby stepped out of the car and into the slowly fading heat outside. He took a deep breath, then closed the door behind him. He waved to Daigo who returned the gesture. Then he not only signalled but also drove in a pace that bordered on a little too slow.

Ruby couldn't help grinning as he walked home. He took bigger steps and eventually ran the last hundred feet. His dad was already waiting on their front porch, arms crossed and tapping a finger on one biceps impatiently. Ruby knew he was at least in for a verbal lecture of some sort.

That was okay, though, he mused. He had had a great today, after all.

Someday, he'd tell his parents, his friends. Out himself to everyone he knew.

But, he knew it in his heart, this day was not today.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been asked several times to write a third part, so here you go! I hope you like it just as much as the other ones :>  
> This turned into a lot of drama but I tried squeezing in some cute parts here and there...!

"I'm going to tell my parents."

Ruby didn't know how big the impact on his life would turn out to be if he did just that, but the decision had been made. He couldn't put it off much longer. At least this was what he felt like.

"You sure?" Daigo asked as he reached over the kitchen table for his newest discovery: jam only containing stone fruits. And he bought at least ten glasses, just because they read "stone". When he found out, Ruby had been... slightly irritated but not shocked. He had gotten used to his boyfriend's bizarre obsession by now in the five years they'd been dating.

Ruby was absent-mindedly stirring his cocoa and watching the swirls this created in his mug. "It's better this way. They're gonna find out eventually anyway, and I think they won't get quite as mad when I just tell them."

"As opposed to finding it out by themselves."

Ruby looked up and watched Daigo spread the jam on his bread. "Yeah. They're already suspicious enough as it is, what with me sneaking to your place, like, every other day." He smiled weakly. "Could you pass me your weird jam, please?"

"It's not 'weird'." Still, Daigo pushed the glass of jam so it slid across the smooth surface of the table.

Ruby caught it in time and, after giving the content a not quite trusting glance, he slowly spread it across his wholemeal bread (he insisted and swore on wholemeal). "Don't even try to hide it." He felt his lips form a smirk. "The only reason you bought this in the first place is because it says 'stone' right," he pointed at the label, "here."

"And?" Daigo asked, then took a generous bite out of the slice he was holding. His face didn't betray any emotion whatsoever, so Ruby tried it too. It didn't taste too bad, he supposed.

"It's edible." He finished his slice and waited for Daigo as well, drinking his cocoa as he did so. "Anyhow, let's get back to topic." Daigo nodded at him to continue, so Ruby did. "I wanna talk this through with Sapph later as well, but I want you to be the first to know. Because, you know, there's a very real chance my parents might actually kick me out."

"And _you_ know, you're always welcome here. I wouldn't mind if you moved in." Daigo wasn't smiling, taking the issue just as seriously as Ruby did.

Ruby half-smiled, half-frowned. "Thank you. I... I appreciate that a lot, I really do. I just... don't want to intrude or something."

Daigo raised an eyebrow. "You? Intrude?"

Ruby let out an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, but you sound pretty chill with the idea of me perhaps having to stay a little longer than usual."

"Which part of 'I love you' don't you get?"

Smiling happily (or rather, grinning like an idiot), Ruby stood up and leaned over the table to cup Daigo's face in his hands. "Aw, I love you too, you big dork." They shared a brief kiss before Ruby sat down again.

"Why, your compliments are as affectionate as ever." Still, Daigo smiled wistfully as he sat down again, too. "I'd also like to add that you're basically already living here. You just need to officially move."

"I just... I don't wanna end up as a burden. As annoying. I don't want you to regret having said and offered this. This isn't ju--"

Daigo's sigh interrupted him. He waved with his hand, displaying at least three rings. "You know, sometimes you're too considerate. It's like you're always trying to find a way that pleases everybody, no matter how _you_ think and feel about it. Put yourself ahead for a change, all right? Because you deserve to be happy, too."

Nodding weakly, Ruby whispered, "I'll try."

"That's a start."

"...And thank you. For everything."

"Don't mention it." Daigo got up. Ruby's gaze followed him questioningly, and after about a minute Daigo returned. He held something in his hand, and Ruby couldn't keep from smiling as his boyfriend put a key on the table in front of him. "It's yours."

Ruby felt his eyes widen in pleasant surprise, then water. He was overwhelmed with a warm, fuzzy feeling from inside, so he got up, turned around, and wrapped his arms around Daigo. He didn't care that he was about to smear his boyfriend's white dress shirt with his tears, and possibly even a little eyeliner. And Daigo obviously didn't give a damn, either, because he returned the embrace without a second's hesitation.

Ruby got on his tiptoes and nuzzled his face into the crook of Daigo's neck, then kissed him. A little stubble scratched against his face. "You ought to shave, you hobo." He heard his own voice come out weak and shake uncontrollably.

"Stubble is sexy."

"It's itchy and it feels like... it's irritating my skin." Nonetheless, Ruby leaned in for another kiss. He needed this now.

Daigo responded, opened his mouth, deepened the kiss. His hands moved up Ruby's somehow frail-seeming body, carefully holding him closer, and with so little force that the younger man had no problem pulling away, taking a step back.

"Sorry I'm such a mess," he whispered and cast his eyes downward.

He could only hear Daigo shuffle a little, then felt one of his large, calloused hands tap against his own. He was holding something. Ruby turned his hand so the palm faced up, then opened his fist. Daigo dropped something warm and metallic in there, and when Ruby finally looked he saw the key from earlier. He wrapped his hand around the key so tightly that he could feel its teeth sinking into the tender skin of his palm.

He didn't care. This was his home now.

* * *

"Ya sure ya wanna do this?" Sapphire asked. Her accent had somewhat lessoned over the years but there was still a certain... quality to her pronunciation that would probably never fade.

Ruby nodded as he swung a couple of inches back and forth on the swing he was currently sitting on. Sapph was lying on the table tennis platform to his left and looking up at the sky. Her legs faced in his general direction and took turns kicking up. "I'll have to eventually, and they know something's up."

"Didn'tcha say they'd throw ya out? Like, I know your dad's really stuck up but I got the impression yer mum'd be fine with it."

"She's got no say in what my dad does. He's kinda... he needs to be in control or he _really_ starts to lose it."

"Has he ever, y'know, hitcha?"

Ruby stopped swinging. This was something he wasn't comfortable talking about, but who ever was? So he simply whispered his answer, hoping that his friend would not only pick up but understand his intention. "Yeah."

Thankfully, Sapphire did, and didn't prompt him any further about this. Instead, she said, "Then it might actually be for the better if ya move out. Ya already talked this over with Daigo I hope."

"Mhm." Ruby looked around, cautious of anyone overhearing them. There was no one else in sight, though. "He said he'd be fine with me moving in with him." He touched his chest with his right hand. Under his shirt, he was wearing Daigo's key on a chain.

Sapphire suddenly sat up, crossed her legs, and looked straight at Ruby. He turned to look back at her. "BS. He probably said somethin' really mushy, like," she cleared her throat, then dropped her voice to speak in a lower key that sounded shockingly manly, "'Ruby, indeed am I glad we have had this conversation because I have been meaning to as--'"

"Hey, don't make fun of him."

"Did not. Andcha gotta admit that was a spot-on impression." She beamed at him, and it did cheer him up a little.

Cracking a small smile, Ruby said, "Not really, no."

"At least it made ya smile, ya big, sad puppy." Sapph jumped down from the platform and walked over to Ruby. He questioningly looked up at her before she pulled him into a fierce hug (and almost off his feet. It made him get up from the swing, at any rate). "Stop pullin' that sulky face already."

Ruby wrapped his arms around Sapphire's smaller but not to be underestimated frame. "Thanks for being there for me."

"Don't get all mushy on me," Sapph chided, although the smile in her voice was plain. "And, ya know, it's only natural. Like," she took a step back and looked Ruby straight in the eye, "if someone loves ya the way you are and accepts ya and respects ya, then they should supportcha. Stand behind ya, no matter what. That's what friends are there for."

Ruby dry-washed his face. He smiled, but his eyes were watery and tears would now be trickling down his face if he hadn't wiped them away. He knew he'd look terrible but he still raised his head to genuinely smile at Sapphire. His voice cracked. "You're th-the best."

She chuckled. "I know." Hands behind her back, she walked up to Ruby, got on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips. "And no more cryin'. Smiles suit ya so much better."

"A-And simultaneously?" Ruby laughed a little. He sounded horrible and he was still crying but his spirits were definitely lifted.

"Nuh-uh. No wrigglin' yer way outta this one."

"You're making it hard, though."

"C'mere." Sapph wiped at his face like his mother used to do when Ruby was little. He felt like he was five years old all over again. The fingerless gloves Sapphire was wearing absorbed the wetness the tears had left behind quite well.

The whole situation seemed so unreal and kind of ridiculous to Ruby that he had to stifle another laugh. Sapphire reached for his hands; her gloves were indeed a little wet. She squeezed his own hands tightly after intertwining their fingers, and Ruby returned the gesture gently. He was glad to have made such a great friend who supported him no matter what. Words couldn't convey what he was feeling towards Sapphire -- she was definitely on a whole other level than his other friends, more akin to a sister.

"So," Sapphire whispered, "when are ya planning to tell 'em?"

Ruby took a deep breath. He didn't want to have a shaky and weak-sounding voice any longer. "Honestly, the more I think about it, the sooner I wanna get it over with."

"Yer not thinkin' today." When she received no immediate answer, Sapph added, "...Right?"

"Actually, I was..."

Sapphire looked like she wanted to argue. She put on a pout before sighing and saying, "It's your call. And, no matter what happens, I'm there for ya."

Ruby smiled, this time without tears stinging his eyes. "Thanks. For everything."

A couple of raindrops fell from the clouds just then, and Sapphire frowned up at the sky. "We'd better get goin', huh?"

"We better had." Already, Sapphire pulled him along, not letting go of his hand. Ruby stumbled for a few feet before he managed to match his pace to hers.

They had walked in silence for a while, off the playground and through a good portion of the town, when Sapphire whispered, "Ya know, if... _if_ , on the off-chance that you and Daigo don't work after all, and ya don't have a place to stay at, you can always come to me."

Ruby squeezed her hand. "Thank you so much."

"Hey, it's only natural." She squeezed his hand back. Thunder rolled and the rain seemed to suddenly go from drizzling to full-on pouring. "Wow, gotta get movin'."

Ruby let go of her hand. He lived just a block away and wouldn't end up completely soaked if he started running now. "Stay safe. I'm... going to text you later today, all right?"

Sapph nodded, then pulled Ruby into another bear hug. "You too. And tell me how it went."

"I will." Sapph let him go and waved at him, then started jogging -- no, _sprinting_ \-- home. Ruby turned to run home as well.

* * *

Ruby's heart was hammering against his ribcage. He felt like it would give out any minute now. He kneaded his fingers nervously.

Across the dinner table, his mother asked, "What's wrong, dear?"

"We told you not to hide your hands under the table." That was his father, almost interrupting her, voice stern and scolding.

Sighing, Ruby laid his hands on top of the table's smooth surface. It was hard looking up, harder yet meeting his mum's, then his dad's eyes. "There's something I need to tell you." His throat felt dry and clogged up but even as his father spoke Ruby knew there was no turning back now.

"What is it?"

Ruby had to take a deep breath to calm himself. His hands were shaking a little, aching with the need to do something. "You've probably figured out I'm not just visiting my friends all the time." His still very full plate seemed incredibly interesting all of a sudden and he stared at his broccoli. He resisted the urge to pick up his fork and repeatedly stab it.

He could hear his mother whisper to his father, "See, hon, I told you he got himself a girlfriend."

Under his breath, Ruby muttered, "Not exactly."

He had kind of hoped someone would pick it up but having his father harshly ask, "What's that supposed to mean?" hadn't exactly been his intention, either.

Bracing himself mentally for the inevitable outburst, Ruby looked up, straight into his father's eyes. "Well, for starters, it's not something recent or fresh. We've been dating for almost five years."

"And why are you only telling us now?" his father demanded.

"Because I know you're gonna throw me out if I tell you it's not a girl I'm with, it's a man."

"Did you just fuck up on purpose?" The chair kissed the ground with an unpleasant thud as Ruby's father got up. He had his hands still firmly planted on the table but was shaking with rage. His eyes were narrowed to dangerous looking slits. Ruby thought he looked like a gorilla gone crazy.

Even though he was scared, Ruby still shot back, "I might just have," before he also stood up. He knew his father was the one who was taller and had more muscle mass but leaving the impression he wouldn't back down as easily as in the past would already be an accomplishment. It meant leaving a dent in his father's ego.

"You better pack your fucking bag, you piece of shit cocksucker! You're _not_ my son!" His father rounded the table. Ruby shot his mum a concerned look, and he was right in his suspicion that she had started crying soundlessly. Her hands were clasped in front of her mouth as she stared at the ruined dinner, tears were running down her face in black streams of mascara.

Ruby ran up the stairs to his room. He had feared this outcome and already stuffed a fair share of his belongings into a tennis bag. He couldn't empty his whole wardrobe into it (he just owned way too many clothes), so he had chosen his favourites and figured he'd either come back in a couple of days when things ought to have calmed down a little, or let his parents do whatever with them.

The bag weighed more than he had expected. Ruby slung it over his shoulder and closed his door behind him, then almost crashed down the staircase. His father (Ruby figured he should simply refer to him as "Senri" from now on; he had been practically disowned, after all) had been friendly enough to already have opened the front door. Ruby more or less gracefully stumbled right out, not turning back, not giving his _maker_ the pleasure of a single glance.

* * *

Face wet from the rain and his tears, eyes blood-shot, arms and legs aching from having run all the way to Daigo's with a heavy bag, Ruby shuffled around with the key. He had never used it before and his fingers, numb and weak and wet, struggled with the simple action of pushing the key into the lock, then turning it. After slipping twice, Ruby finally opened the door.

He shuffled inside and called out, "Daigo? You home?" No answer. After getting rid of his shoes and raincoat, his drenched beanie and the way too heavy tennis bag, he decided to search the house for his boyfriend. _I should've seen it coming_ , Ruby thought to himself when he found Daigo slumped over his actual work desk, sleeping. Next to him were sprawled several signed exams, and sometime during correcting he must have fallen asleep. Ruby couldn't blame him.

He had to smile when he caught a whiff of aftershave.

He quietly went to the bedroom to retrieve a wool comforter which he wrapped as gently as he could around Daigo's frame -- he didn't want to wake him up, after all. Then, Ruby made his way into the kitchen to brew himself a cup of hot tea. As he was waiting for the water to boil, he grabbed a towel from the bathroom and dried himself as best as he could. He made a mental note to take a shower right before going to sleep; he didn't want to catch a cold, and, on top of that, he thought it'd be refreshing and might wash away some of his negativity.

Back in the kitchen, the water was ready. Ruby went with a simple green tea, and, mug in hand, shuffled into the living room to watch some TV. Nothing was on, so he just drowned his thoughts with cheap soap operas and nonsensical talk shows. Before he knew it, his eyes fell shut and he went into a heavy sleep.

* * *

Someone shaking his shoulder relentlessly made him wake up eventually. Groggily, Ruby sat up and stretched, almost punching Daigo in the face in the process.

"Careful," Daigo chided and Ruby almost fell off the couch as he did a double-take. Daigo walked around the sofa and sat down next to Ruby. The TV had already been turned off. "Did something happen?" he asked gently.

Ruby nodded. He sleepily looked around; it was already dark out and he had no idea how long he'd been asleep. "I told my parents. They threw me out. Had my stuff packed already before and brought it with me." It was weird how detached he felt from what had happened to him. It was like he was talking about someone else, not himself.

Nonetheless, meeting Daigo's eye was hard. He managed, though, and released a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding when he saw his boyfriend nod with a serious expression. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"There isn't a lot to say." Ruby inhaled deeply and straightened himself. "It escalated quickly."

"Did your father do anything?"

"Aside from calling me... what was it?" Ruby looked from Daigo to the TV as he tried to recall the events. Everything had turned into a hazy blur in his mind, seemingly far away. "Well, verbal abuse. He called me a 'piece of shit cocksucker', if I remember correctly."

"Wow." Daigo frowned and looked surprised at the same time. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. And it's never been."

Daigo made an appreciative sound, then wrapped his arms around Ruby and pulled him close. Ruby closed his eyes as he leaned into him. "By the way," Daigo whispered, "have you had dinner?"

Ruby felt so comfortable snuggling against Daigo's chest that he was close to falling asleep a second time. "Not a lot."

"Wanna change that? You need some strength, especially tomorrow." Daigo frowned. "Or later today."

"Nah. I'm too comfortable right now." To stress his point, Ruby snuggled even closer. He faintly remembered something about texting Sapph, but he was sure he could put it off a little longer and instead be affectionate with his boyfriend. He looked up and Daigo returned his gaze, then Ruby leaned in and started to lazily kiss him.

Daigo kissed him back, and Ruby wrapped his arms around his neck to pull him closer. He felt so sleepy and his kissing was probably just as sluggish as it felt like from his perspective, but he didn't really care.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, Ruby was lying in bed. He sat up, stretched and yawned, blinked the sleep out of his eyes. For some reason, he had slept in his clothes. _Gross._ The next thing Ruby noticed was that he apparently slept at Daigo's. Who was not in bed anymore, as a glance to his left revealed.

Then, the memories kicked in.

Ruby rushed out of bed so fast his vision momentarily went even blurrier and he felt like he was defying gravity for a second or two, then he regained his footing. He was glad he hadn't just blacked out from the sudden change of perspective; he felt weak and guilty and a slight headache was hammering against the inside of his skull, for some reason. Staggering a little, Ruby made for the door and then the kitchen. He needed to eat something, almost desperately so, and it only helped that Daigo was sitting there at the table and reading the paper.

"Mornin'," Ruby greeted groggily. He caught himself yawning.

Daigo looked up from the paper. He was wearing a pair of reading glasses and Ruby wished he remembered where he'd put his own pair. "Good morning." He smiled. Ruby thought he looked so good right now, and he couldn't refrain from smiling himself. "Toast all right?"

"Huh?" Ruby blinked. He sat down across from his boyfriend just as he got up to make him some breakfast. Or, as Ruby decided after glancing to the clock on the wall, brunch. That's when it clicked into place, at any rate. "Oh, yeah. Thank you. And, uh, would you mind making scrambled eggs, too? I'm a little hungry."

"'A little' is an understatement." Daigo turned to look at Ruby after he shoved two slices of wholemeal toast down the toaster. "Usually you're more concerned about the calories and so on."

"I seriously need some comfort food." Daigo just nodded and turned to the fridge to get some eggs. "By the way, have you seen my phone?"

"On the table in the living room." Ruby got up to sprint there, and only heard Daigo calling reluctantly after him, "I think...!"

His boyfriend's assumption turned out to be true, though. The battery wasn't completely empty, so Ruby checked for any new messages. Four missed calls and about ten times as many texts were what he had been sleeping through yesterday. Before Sapphire started looking for him personally, Ruby decided it'd be wise if he just answered her already.

"sorry, fell asleep yesterday. been thrown out and at daigos. im doing all right."

His phone buzzed a minute later, just after he had returned to the kitchen. Daigo was busy fighting with the pan and trying his hardest not to have pieces of eggshell turn up in the scrambled eggs as well. Ruby got out his phone and read the message. "it ok"

Smiling, he slid his phone into the front pockets of his pants. It reminded him that he _still_ had to change. "Is it okay if I take a shower right after brea-- bruching?"

Daigo nodded. "Sure." He scratched the egg out of the pan with a spatula and placed it on top of the toast on a plate. "By the way, don't you want to get your other stuff?" He got Ruby a fork and a knife and set everything on the table at Ruby's usual place.

The younger man sat down. "Yes and no. I'd love to have my things of course, but I don't want to show up. My da-- Senri's gonna make me beg."

"You won't be alone, though." With that, Daigo sat down across the table.

"What do yo--" Ruby's eyes widened when it dawned on him. "No. You're not coming with me."

"You could use the support. In more than one sense."

"I might, but I don't want you to end up getting hurt. Seriously, you don't know my family. My father knows martial arts."

"They're for self-defense purposes, not to attack somebody."

"Won't stop him."

Daigo sighed. He looked like he wanted to pout and definitely not like he would give in. Still, he changed the topic; he obviously didn't want to argue. "C'mon, eat your food."

* * *

Ruby wasn't keen on fighting either. He had mulled everything over as he was taking a long, much deserved, and, above all, refreshing shower, and come to the conclusion that he should just have Daigo let his way. Ruby would get his dear belongings, that is, _all_ of them, and perhaps Senri would suffer a heart attack from his aggressive behaviour. (Ruby knew that he probably shouldn't be thinking such things but he couldn't help himself.)

So here they were now, making their way to Ruby's old home in Daigo's even older car. Ruby was clawing desperately at his seat even though he had to admit that his boyfriend's driving had seriously improved. Still, he registered every single honk directed at them.

It felt like an eternity before they finally arrived, Ruby giving precise directions the whole way (Daigo didn't know where he used to live, after all). He dreaded the moment his old home came into view, and when it did, he more whispered than said, "We're here."

Daigo stopped the car and got out, then Ruby did, too. After Daigo locked the vehicle, Ruby hesitantly edged closer to his parents' house. "Seems like a nice neighbourhood," Daigo chimed in, and Ruby slowly shook his head.

"You won't be thinking this anymore after you've met a certain relative of mine."

"Lookin' forward to it already."

Ruby stifled an inappropriate laugh and closed the remaining distance between the house and himself. Daigo followed right on his heels. Ruby dreaded having to do this, having to have come here at all, having to see his stupid parents again. After not even a whole day. It made him feel weak and like he hadn't accomplished anything at all in the 20 years he'd been walking the earth.

He cringed when he heard the sound of the bell ringing, finger firmly pushing the stupid button down and not even thinking of letting go. This visit should be hard on both parties involved, Ruby thought, and the shrill sound would pose as a wonderful first act.

It didn't take long for the door to be opened. Ruby wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or irritated when it was his mother who was standing at the front door. Ruby let go of the doorbell and managed to squawk out a weak, "Hi," before he was crushed in a desperate hug. He shot an apologising look behind him where Daigo was standing and trying his hardest not to laugh.

"You don't know how much I missed you, hon!" His mother was close to permanently damaging his hearing and Ruby ached for air, so he pulled away and almost rear-ended into his boyfriend.

"Where is... Dad?" Ruby asked, spitting the last syllable with revulsion.

"Oh, he's still at work. I a--"

"Good." Ruby marched inside and gestured to Daigo to follow. He felt bad for ignoring his mother but he knew the faster they cleared his room, the smaller the chance of running into Senri. This was his top priority at the moment.

He basically dashed up the stairs and opened the door to his room. (It technically wasn't his room anymore, he reminded himself.) Ruby was pleased to find that nothing had been touched in his absence -- he had half-feared Senri would've destroyed most of his belongings with no regard whatsoever what was especially valuable to Ruby.

Soft steps on the wooden floor behind him indicated that Daigo had followed him here, as well. Ruby turned around to see him looking around with a curious expression, then rested his gaze on his boyfriend. "It looks like you. Not as in physical resemblance," Daigo hastily added, "but certainly as a room you'd like to spend time in." He took another look around. "Say, would you like to have a room for your own at my place, too?"

"Nah, just gotta spice up everything a little with some unique... uh... features. If you're okay with that."

"Yep."

"Right. And then I might already feel not as out of place as I usually do."

"...You do?" Daigo sounded unsure, his voice coming out little and high.

Ruby laughed. "I was just kidding. As long as you're there, I'm feeling right at home."

"Why, thank you." Daigo sounded pleased with himself at that, and his lips curved up in a cute smile Ruby couldn't resist. He hastily got up on his tiptoes to kiss him, lost his balance in the process and accidentally crash-landed against Daigo's chest. "Careful."

Ruby just wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist and rested his face against his chest. "You just looked so adorable I couldn't resist."

"Aw. Putting the blame on me." Daigo embraced him, and they stood like that for a while.

Finally, Ruby pulled away and smiled up at Daigo. "It's funny, you know."

"What is?"

"Now that my parents know, I don't care about who might see us. It's like I survived the worst of it." Right after he said it, Ruby felt the relief wash over him. He looked wistfully down to his sneakers, then back up at Daigo and said, "We should get started."

Daigo raised his hands a little. "I don't know what you want to take with you, though."

"Oh, you do." Ruby turned around and started going through his drawers as he spoke. "You know me."

* * *

They had to go several times to carry all the things Ruby wanted to keep downstairs, out of the house and into Daigo's car, and thankfully they were as good as done with the work. Ruby didn't know where his mother had gone off to; she'd seemingly just disappeared. Seemingly, as she had actually gone out to pick up Senri from his workplace and walk home with him. Just as he was carrying the last of his precious sewing set into the car, Ruby could hear an angry growl he recognised all too well and froze in place. The blurry figure from down the street closed in steadily and the outlines got sharper and sharper. Ruby felt like prey.

Daigo pulled Ruby forward a few steps and across the street to his car, otherwise the younger man would've been run over. Literally. By the person who was supposed to be his loving and caring _father_. "I don't think he's in for a hug," Daigo muttered helpfully.

Ruby turned around after he had stowed his tools into the car's bunk, and looked straight at the person coming to a halt on the other side of the street, in front of his house. "He looks like he'd rather strangle me."

With a worried look, Daigo followed Ruby's gaze. "He's not gonna come over, is he?"

"Nah. You're here. He might catch gay cooties or something."

"Ah, so I can finally be your knight in shining armour."

"Yeah, right." Ruby cracked a smile.

It vanished as soon as he heard his father yelling as loudly as he could. It sounded close to a roar. "What're you showing your ugly face for?!"

Ruby gulped. He inhaled deeply to calm himself down and to have enough air in his lungs to shout, "I promise you it's not going to happen again."

"I sure hope so because I'm gonna rip you into pieces next time I you do."

Daigo whispered, "What's his problem?"

"Hell if I know." Ruby sighed and turned to look at his mother. She was just standing there, frozen with shock, hand clasped over her mouth. Tears were running down her face. "I'm sorry, Mum. I love you." It was hard not to let his voice crack. He felt like crying himself.

As he turned, Ruby could hear Senri mutter (probably intentionally) rather loudly, "I should have known a vertically-challenged, girly-as-fuck excuse for a son would turn out to be a faggot." Then the door slammed shut. Ruby risked one last glance over his shoulder but his mother must have moved. She was nowhere to be seen.

So here he was again, standing before closed doors, not knowing where exactly his future might lead him. Not knowing if leaving was the right choice after all. Not knowing if things would work out.

But what did you do if you didn't know? You found out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that's it! I'm sorry it took such a long time to write this, I've been struggling. A lot. Because DaiRu isn't exactly on the top of my favourite ships. No, it's not even close. I only wrote this third part out of popular demand and no matter how many people might ask for a fourth part, please understand that it is not going to happen. As far as I'm concerned, this fic is complete, and I want to focus on other projects instead.  
> I realise I didn't tie up everything with this chapter. Please feel free to come up with your own conclusions, sequels, headcanons, etc.! Thanks for reading this little note, and the whole chapter/fic, of course :> I love you!

**Author's Note:**

> hijackedbylou.tumblr.com


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